Opening Session

The first day of the study mission will kick-off with an overview of the European and North American state of the art and trends in transitioning to zero-emission fleets.

We will also feature the Public Transport Authority of Groningen and Drenthe in the Netherlands. The Transport Authority has a goal of being 100% emission-free by 2030 and started making the transition to a zero-emission fleet in 2017. 186 of their 360-bus fleet is zero emission, operating in city, BRT and regional service. In making the transition to an all zero-emission fleet, they are experimenting with multiple technology options. They operate 164 battery-electric buses and have deployed both on-route overhead charging and depot-based charging. They are also operating 22 hydrogen fuel cell buses. The electric power needed for both the battery and fuel cell buses comes from wind energy, and fuel cell buses use green hydrogen.